


They Grow Fast

by AnnieVH



Series: Behind Closed Doors [12]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dating, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Teenagers, parenting, pre-rumbelle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 10:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3064379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieVH/pseuds/AnnieVH
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Much to Rumpel’s surprise, Belle French knocked on their door.<br/>TIMELINE: takes place when Bae and Belle are teenagers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Grow Fast

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to fill this prompt (http://rumbelleprompts.tumblr.com/post/90082568530/rumple-milah-neal-belle-tw-domestic) for a while now, so I decided to do it as one-shots pertaining to the same verse (Behind Closed Doors), since I lack the attention span for multi-chapter. If anybody wants to send me ideas and prompts, I need them very much.
> 
> A companion piece for this picspam (http://annievh.tumblr.com/post/102166515522/behind-closed-doors-warnings-domestic-abuse).
> 
> Pairings for this verse: eventual Rumbelle and Swanfire.  
> Warnings for this verse: abusive relationship, implied non-con situations, child-abuse, violence, infidelity, very anti-Milah.
> 
> A HUGE THANKS to Maddie for betaing it so fast!

Much to Rumple’s surprise, Belle French knocked on their door that Saturday night.

“Good evening, Mr. Gold. Is Baelfire ready?”

Rumple couldn’t remember when was the last time one of Bae’s friends had come near the house. As a rule, Baelfire didn’t allow them anywhere they could potentially run into his mother. Rumple knew that, and agreed it was for the best; even though Milah usually behaved herself in the presence of other people, she disliked most of Baelfire’s friends and made no attempt to be nice to them whenever they came over. Besides, the discussions his parents had been having for the past few years didn’t seem to be getting any better.

It was the first time Bae returned home from college for a long weekend and his resolution to keep his friends as far as possible from his family life seemed unchanged. He ate dinner quietly, listening to his mother ask about college and drop unsubtle hints about her disapproval. After all, what kind of man would her son be studying something like  _art_?

His father, as always, walked on eggshells the whole night, trying to stray the conversation away from sensitive topics without setting Milah off. Whenever she asked, “But don’t you think I’m right, Rumple?” he offered uncompromising hums.

Bae limited himself to chew and roll his eyes. Once dinner was over, he got up and announced he’d be going out with friends.

Milah asked, “What friends?”

He simply answered, “ _My_  friends.” And went back to his room.

“This is what that college is doing to our son,” she complained to her husband, helping him take the dishes to the kitchen. “He’s becoming disrespectful.”

Rumple knew Bae was only trying to keep another fight from erupting. He didn’t want to hear his mother’s old speech about bad influences, which usually escalated to a fight with Milah shouting that Rumple never supported her, and Rumple trying to calm her down.

“He’s eighteen,” Rumple said instead. “They’re all a bit disrespectful at this age.”

“ _You_  weren’t.” Under her breath, she added, “Lord knows our lives would’ve been easier if you were.”

Rumple didn’t have the energy to say otherwise, and that clearly disappointed her. Milah was looking for a way to vent her frustration and poking old wounds was her favorite way to do that. But since her husband wouldn’t take the bait, she retired to a book, looking very displeased, but refraining from making any more comments on the subject. Rumple knew she’d start ranting about something else the moment he joined her in the living room, so he decided to wash the dishes instead of leaving them for the maid, buying himself a few extra minutes of peace, only to be interrupted by the knock on the door.

He only interacted with Belle French in the library, where she worked part time after school. As a consequence, she was always wearing her school uniform, which was just a little too big for her and gave her a somewhat frumpy look. You can’t be picky with hand-me-downs. Because she was too small for her age, he tended to think of her as the twelve-year-old who’d venture into the woods with Graham and Bae. However, tonight she was wearing a short blue dress and red high heels, and the contrast was astonishing. He had always found her a beautiful girl, but now he could see she was becoming a very beautiful young woman.

 _She’s going to give Maurice some trouble,_  he thought.

To cover his surprise, Rumple looked at the stairs, as if considering if Bae was, indeed, ready for whatever they planned to do. His son had mentioned _friends_ , but Rumple had assumed he meant Graham and maybe a few other young men he had gone to school with. He never thought he’d invite Belle along. And he definitely never thought Belle would show up in a nice dress.

_Are they on a date?_

They’d have to have a serious conversation about that later.

“Bae!” he called. “Belle is here!” To her, he said, “Would you like to come in?”

Belle looked over his shoulder, probably checking to see if Mrs. Gold was anywhere near. Milah’s opinion of her and her parents hadn’t improved over the years and there was no reason to tempt fate.

Luckily, Baelfire came rushing down the stairs, shouting, “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here!” He jumped over the bannister and landed on his father’s side with a thump. “Hey, Belle.”

“Hey, ready to go?”

“Yeah, almost. Can I have the Cadillac?”

Rumple took a moment to realize Bae was talking to him.

“I’m sorry?”

“C’mon, Papa. I promise I’ll be careful.”

“Why do you need to drive? This town is two blocks long.”

Belle giggled. “He does have a point.”

Bae ignored their arguments and pleaded, putting his hands together, “Please, Papa. I never get to drive in New York.”

Rumple considered it.

 _He’s trying to impress her_ , he concluded.  _This is definitely a date_.

Out loud, he said, “Are you going to drink?”

“No, sir.”

“And are you getting this lovely lady home safe?”

“Yes, sir.”

“At a reasonable hour?”

“Yes, sir.”

Rumple still held his gaze for a moment. But reached for the keys and threw them to him.

“Thank you, Papa!” Bae said, kissing his cheek. “Don’t wait up.”

“You kids have fun. And offer her your jacket, Bae. I raised you to be a gentleman.”

“Yes, Papa!” he shouted over his shoulder, and Belle waved goodbye as they both rushed to the car.

Rumple waved back, with a little smile.

Behind him, came Milah’s sneering voice, “Where is the rest of her dress?”

Rumple looked back to find his wife staring after them as well. Unlike her husband, she was not please.

He shrugged. “It’s what they’re using nowadays, I suppose.”

“That’s her French side showing.”

In a whisper, as if they were sharing a secret, he said, “I think they’re out on a date.”

Milah sounded outraged. “I sure hope not! I’ll be caught dead before my son marries the daughter of that brute.”

“C’mon,” he teased. “Think of the cute grandchildren we’d have.”

She was not amused. “Then you better talk to your son again about condoms, because I’m too young to be a grandmother.”

Milah returned to the living room, looking grumpier than before. But Rumple washed the dishes with a smile on his face, thinking of babies that looked like Baelfire, but with big, bright blue eyes.

*

Baelfire got back from his date way past one in the morning to find his father waiting in the living room.

“Hey.”

Rumple put his tea aside, “Hey.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No,” his father chuckled. “I simply can’t sleep unless I know you’re safe at home.”

“Is mom-”

“She’s in bed.”

“Good.” Bae walked into the living room and chose a couch to throw himself in. He asked, “How do you even sleep when I’m in New York?”

“Badly, if you must know. Did you drop Belle home?”

“Yes. At a much more suitable time,” he added, anticipating the next question. “I dropped her home at eleven.”

Rumple frowned. “And you just got home now?”

“We went back to Graham’s. To have a beer. But I only had one bottle, before you say anything.”

“We?”

“Hm?”

“Who’s we?”

“Graham and me.”

“Graham was with you on your date?”

His son blinked, surprised. “I was on a date?”

“With Belle?”

“You thought I was on a date with Belle?”

Rumple sounded disappointed when he said, “You weren’t?”

“No,” he said, a little taken aback. “I just gave her a ride because she’d be in the neighborhood. It was a group thing. Belle, Graham, Ruby, Billy…”

“Then why did you want the Cadillac so badly?”

“Uh, because it’s a Cadillac?” Bae said. “Do you know how awesome it is to drive a Caddy? Seriously, you take that beauty for granted.”

“Well, still,” Rumple said, stirring the conversation back to his original point. “Belle is a pretty girl-”

“Dad!” Bae almost shouted, earning himself a shush. He sounded repulsed at the mere idea. “She’s like my sister! Besides, she’s got a boyfriend.”

“Really?” Rumple asked, finding the idea of Belle dating anyone but his son hard to grasp.

“Yeah. Gaston.”

“Gaston.” He thought on it. “Why does it sound familiar?””

“The big bully who used to be in my class? He stole her book once, we all got into trouble. Mom put on a scene.”

Rumple nodded. “The boy she kicked for stealing her book.”

“Yes.” Bae smirked. “Bet she wouldn’t have kicked him  _there_  if she knew-”

“Good god, Baelfire,” he interrupted. “Don’t be  _crude_. She’s a  _child_.”

“She’s  _sixteen_ , dad.”

“That  _is_  a child!”

Bae rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Whatever, dad. I’m not dating her.”

“And me ready to give you The Talk again.”

“Oh! Then I’m so glad we don’t have to do that a third time!” Bae got up. “In fact, I think I’ll take this opportunity to-”

“ _Her_?”

“What?”

“You said you’re not dating  _her_.”

His son hesitated for a second. “Yes?”

The smile came back to Rumple’s face. “Are you dating someone  _else_?”

Bae spent five whole seconds looking for a flaw in his father’s thinking, and though there were probably many, he couldn’t find one. He decided to react with a, “Night, dad!” And made it for the stairs.

“What is her name?”

“Night, dad!”

“Are you wearing a condom-”

“ _Night_ , dad!”

Rumple watched him go asking no further questions, but decided to interrogate him extensively the next day about this mysterious girlfriend.

Mysterious girlfriend that was  _not_  Belle French, which was a pity.

**Author's Note:**

> A list of all one-shots in verse chronological order can be found here: http://annievh.tumblr.com/post/102166515522/behind-closed-doors-warnings-domestic-abuse


End file.
